Subrata Panda, Abhijit Lele &Amp; Samie Modak

Stories by Subrata Panda, Abhijit Lele &Amp; Samie Modak

Another Anil Ambani firm in big trouble

Another Anil Ambani firm in big trouble

Rediff.com   2 Dec 2021

Reliance Power (RPower) has defaulted on payment of interest worth Rs 1.17 crore to DBS Bank India and Rs 44 lakh to IDBI Bank. It failed to pay up interest on October 30, 2021. The firm, part of the Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance group, in filing with BSE, said it has term loans and working capital arrangements with three lenders - YES Bank, IDBI Bank and DBS. Its stock closed 1.41 per cent lower at Rs 12.6 per share on the BSE on December 1. About exposure of YES Bank, there is a 'standstill' applicable till December 26, 2021.

'US policy normalisation has implications for risk assets'

'US policy normalisation has implications for risk assets'

Rediff.com   1 Dec 2021

'Any normalisation exercise will bring its share of volatility.'

'It is hard to decipher precisely why Paytm share price would go down'

'It is hard to decipher precisely why Paytm share price would go down'

Rediff.com   30 Nov 2021

'I can tell shareholders we're going to be very responsible with our capital, we're going to be absolutely execution focused.'

Bad-loan market may soon see flurry of activities

Bad-loan market may soon see flurry of activities

Rediff.com   29 Nov 2021

Banks are set to sell dud-loans worth Rs 90,000 crore of 22 firms in the first tranche to the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL). It's reason for cheer given that such sales to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) have been poor in recent times. In fiscal 2020, their assets under management (AUM) contracted by 4 per cent; and in fiscal 2021, it fell by another 100 basis points to Rs 1.07 trillion. So, why are we where we are?

Explained: How Sensex rebalancing impacts stocks

Explained: How Sensex rebalancing impacts stocks

Rediff.com   29 Nov 2021

The BSE's arm Asia Index has announced Wipro will replace Bajaj Auto in the 30-share Sensex. The move is part of a semi-annual rebalancing exercise and will take effect when the market opens for trading on December 20. On account of the rejig, Wipro will see buying by passive funds to the tune of Rs1,300 crore, while Bajaj Auto will see selling of Rs 636 crore, estimate analysts.

Term insurance plan premiums may go up by 20% in Dec-Jan

Term insurance plan premiums may go up by 20% in Dec-Jan

Rediff.com   29 Nov 2021

Life insurers, on the prodding of global reinsurers, are set to hike premiums on term plans because rising mortality after the second wave of the pandemic has led to an increase in the number of settlements. Some will do so next month while others may wait till January. Global reinsurer Munich Re had nudged its insurance partners on the hike in September and insurers have been engaged in negotiations with the reinsurer on the amount of the increase. Term plan prices in India were among the lowest in the world for a long period but in the past couple of years, they have been increased a few times.

Paytm listing fiasco: Sebi may quiz investment bankers

Paytm listing fiasco: Sebi may quiz investment bankers

Rediff.com   27 Nov 2021

Sebi also plans to examine if any comments made by company officials or the bankers could have misled investors.

'Definite improvement in economic activity in October'

'Definite improvement in economic activity in October'

Rediff.com   24 Nov 2021

'I hope the trend is sustainable and that economic activity accelerates going forward.'

Nykaa IPO fetches a fat pay cheque of Rs 148 cr for investment bankers

Nykaa IPO fetches a fat pay cheque of Rs 148 cr for investment bankers

Rediff.com   19 Nov 2021

Initial public offerings (IPOs) by start-ups are bringing cheer to investors and investment bankers alike. After food delivery company Zomato, Nykaa has issued the fattest pay cheque to the managers of its share sale -- Rs 148 crore, or 2.8 per cent of its issue proceeds of Rs 5,300 crore. In absolute terms, this is the second-highest amount paid to investment bankers for handling an IPO, while in percentage terms, it is the highest for large IPOs (>$300 million) in the last one year, shows an analysis of the data provided by Prime Database, a primary market tracker.

'Insurance paid Rs 25,000-30,000 cr in Covid claims'

'Insurance paid Rs 25,000-30,000 cr in Covid claims'

Rediff.com   18 Nov 2021

'Last year (FY21), we had about 1 million intimated claims for Covid.' 'This year (FY22), in six months, we got about 1.6 million claims.'

'Adopt stock-specific, not sector, approach'

'Adopt stock-specific, not sector, approach'

Rediff.com   17 Nov 2021

'Today, there is no easy money to be made after the run-up in equities.'

In India, cash will remain king for many more years

In India, cash will remain king for many more years

Rediff.com   16 Nov 2021

Rapid strides in digital payments notwithstanding, the Indian economy will likely remain cash-dependent for many years to come, at least that's what the automated teller machine makers and cash logistics companies are betting on. After growing at over 20 per cent for most of 2020, currency in circulation growth fell to 8.5 per cent as of October 29 this year, shows data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The reason for the steep rise in currency last year was the uncertainties related to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, where people preferred to hoard cash to meet exigencies.

Banks should not feel threatened by fintech companies

Banks should not feel threatened by fintech companies

Rediff.com   15 Nov 2021

'There will be partnerships between banks and fintech firms, but there will also be areas where they will be direct competitors.'

India Inc's profit-to-GDP ratio rebounds to highest in a decade

India Inc's profit-to-GDP ratio rebounds to highest in a decade

Rediff.com   10 Nov 2021

Listed companies' net profit as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) has hit a decadal high and is expected to edge even higher over the next two financial years. According to an analysis by ICICI Securities, India's Inc net profit stood at Rs 8.4 trillion, or 4 per cent of GDP of Rs 210 trillion for the trailing 12-month period ending September. This is the highest since financial year 2011-12 (FY12), when it was at 4.6 per cent.

Credit card spends jump 57% in September

Credit card spends jump 57% in September

Rediff.com   3 Nov 2021

Credit card spends jumped 57 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in September, aided by the festive season. According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, in September, credit card spends totalled Rs 80,477.18 crore compared to Rs 77,981 crore in August, thereby registering a 3.2 per cent growth sequentially, despite the high base. In the corresponding period last year, credit card spend was to the tune of Rs 51,356.68 crore.

8 banks recast exposures worth Rs 27,000 cr in OTR 2.0

8 banks recast exposures worth Rs 27,000 cr in OTR 2.0

Rediff.com   2 Nov 2021

Personal loans have about 80 per cent share in exposures restructured under regulatory package 2.0 by eight banks who have declared results for the second quarter. The remaining 20 per cent are loans to individuals used for business and credit to MSMEs. The total recast exposure of these banks under One Time Restructuring (OTR 2.0) was Rs 27,708 crore.

'We are at the beginning of a new bull cycle'

'We are at the beginning of a new bull cycle'

Rediff.com   2 Nov 2021

'We expect the bull run to continue until economic growth continues.'

Morgan Stanley joins India downgrade chorus

Morgan Stanley joins India downgrade chorus

Rediff.com   29 Oct 2021

Morgan Stanley on Thursday became the latest brokerage to question the valuations of Indian equities and downgraded them from 'overweight' (OW) to 'equalweight' (EW) and recommended taking some money off the table. "We move tactically EW on India equities after strong relative gains - we expect a structural multi-year earnings recovery, but at 24 times forward price-to-earnings (P/E) we look for some consolidation ahead of US Fed tapering, an RBI hike in February and higher energy costs," Morgan Stanley equity strategists, led by Daniel Blake and Jonathan Garner, said in a note on Asia Pacific markets. The brokerage has upgraded Indonesia to OW, while maintaining an EW stance on China and UW on Taiwan.

New recurring payment norms: 4 weeks later, people still face disruptions

New recurring payment norms: 4 weeks later, people still face disruptions

Rediff.com   28 Oct 2021

More than three weeks have passed since the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) new guidelines on e-mandates for recurring payments came into effect but consumers are still taking to social media platforms to complain about the disruptions they are facing. This comes as most stakeholders in the ecosystem have not put in place systems in accordance with the new rules, resulting in many transactions not going through. Industry sources said most banks are still not ready, especially the smaller ones.

Banks process nearly 2 mn e-mandates for auto-payment

Banks process nearly 2 mn e-mandates for auto-payment

Rediff.com   27 Oct 2021

Nearly two million e-mandates for recurring payments have been registered with banks and card networks after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made it mandatory from October 1 to take prior consent of a customer before debiting her account, sources in know of the matter said. Industry estimates peg the recurring transactions at approximately 2.5 per cent of the total volume of transactions, and about 1.5 per cent in terms of value. Of these, around 75 per cent of domestic recurring transactions, and about 85 per cent international recurring payments are below Rs 5,000.